i hear her
my upstairs neighbor
sobbing sobbing sobbing
broken only
momentarily when
i sneeze or cough
a rhythmic surrender
after last night
and the screaming
he cheated
(she thinks)
and after three hours
of circular yelling
the door slammed
shook the frames
on my wall and knocked
the dry erase markers
onto the floor
and now as i wait
for the coffee to brew
she is wailing
begging god to
have the bastard killed

i get dressed
my head pounding from
enforced eavesdropping
ready for another day
in this new routine
much like the old one
and as i walk out
she comes sniffling
down the stairs
we don’t speak
a mutual embarrassment
hanging in the cold air
as she sees him
(the cheating bastard)
asleep in his car
and i watch her
key the side of his car
before getting in hers
i can’t help but
admire the passion
the two still share
in the toxicity of
there love gone rancid

tonight they will be
screaming or fucking
as i sit waiting for
the coffee to brew
the blue sedan sitting
with whore scratched out
in sloppy calligraphy
down the driver door
and i can’t help but
admire the mutually
assured destruction
of their passionate hate
a modern take on old man
shakerspeare as shouted
by two miserable bastards
and eavesdropped by
a miserable fool alone
with a front row seat to
the melanoma of love